Perhaps her expression was too obviously puzzled. Xu Ao, who had been bustling around in vain for quite a while, showed no sign of annoyance. He simply asked, “Should I go fetch some more dry grass?”
In just this short time, he had already darted up and down the wall and ground seven or eight times.
To little effect.
Sang Zhixia said with a strange tone, “What do you think the problem is?”
Xu Ao replied, “I can’t guess.”
They stared at each other, at a loss.
Sang Zhixia furrowed her delicate brows and clicked her tongue, saying, “If this path doesn’t work, we’ll take a detour.”
“Let’s go see how others have laid theirs.”
Xu Ao reached out directly, hooked his arm around her waist, and with a swift motion, they landed perfectly on the ground.
Before Sang Zhixia could feel awkward, he subtly withdrew his hand.
“I’ll go check elsewhere.”
Xu Ao shot up to the higher roof of the East Room in a flash. Standing on the ground, Sang Zhixia watched silently and clicked her tongue in amazement.
A human-shaped skyrocket!
The impressive skyrocket bounced up and down, but even as night fell, the two of them working together still couldn’t patch up the shed roof.
Those who could finally rest indoors had long since settled down. Xu Ao looked up at the night sky leaking through the gaps overhead and sighed helplessly, “It’s getting late. You should go back and sleep.”
He was already twenty—he couldn’t possibly squeeze in with his mother.
But Sang Zhixia was a woman and had no such reservations.
Sang Zhixia didn’t hesitate long before agreeing.
“You stay here for now. Tomorrow, we’ll find a way to ask someone in the village. If that doesn’t work, we’ll spend some silver to hire help.”
“You…”
Xu Ao paused, hesitating, and when Sang Zhixia turned to look, he said quietly, “Remember to keep your own belongings safe.”
“Don’t take them out.”
He didn’t know how much valuables Sang Zhixia had hidden on her during their journey, nor did he want to know.
But once a door was closed, thoughts could still fly around inside.
People don’t fear scarcity—they fear inequality.
If others found out, it would inevitably lead to trouble and conflict.
This family had already lost all semblance of dignity.
Sang Zhixia hadn’t expected him to think of this. She paused for a moment before replying leisurely, “You just lie down and sleep soundly. My things won’t go missing.”
She had been poor and afraid before, and she knew better than anyone how crucial the money in her pocket was.
So she had hidden everything carefully along the way, leaving no trace except for that one Eastern Pearl.
When they moved into the thatched cottage, she had immediately found a secure spot to hide everything away.
Nothing would happen.
Xu Ao gave a faint “hmm” and didn’t say anything more. Sang Zhixia also gracefully returned to the East Room.
However, less than half an hour after entering the room, she regretted it.
She had long been aware of her mother-in-law’s tearful nature, but she hadn’t expected the woman’s crying to last so long…
Ever since Xu Mingxu and Xu Jinxi fell asleep, the sobbing hadn’t stopped.
She didn’t mind sleeping on the floor with only one bed, but with her mother-in-law crying like this, the sound drilling into her ears, she truly couldn’t sleep.
After enduring for an hour, the crying still hadn’t ceased.
Sang Zhixia tried calling out softly, only to realize the weeping woman was still deeply engrossed.
Worn down and out of patience, she thought of Xu Ao, who had been silent while sleeping, and decisively tiptoed out the door with her quilt in her arms.
Even sleeping under the open sky was better than this!
In the West Shed, Xu Ao heard rustling sounds and instinctively called out, “Who’s there?”
“It’s me.”
He looked at the person approaching with a quilt in surprise and said in astonishment, “Weren’t you…”
“Hey, don’t even ask.”
During their days of camping in the wilderness, the two had often lain on the ground together. Sang Zhixia spread half of the quilt over the straw and wrapped the other half around herself, revealing only her head with its dark circles as she asked, “Will mother-in-law really be alright if she keeps crying like this?”
“Shouldn’t you go comfort her?”
Xu Ao hadn’t expected this to be her concern. He let out a bitter chuckle and said, “That’s just how mother is.”
Not only during this sudden upheaval, but even back in the Marquis’ residence, she would cry all night long at the slightest dissatisfaction.
No one could ever console her.
Sang Zhixia took a sharp breath with a complicated expression, yawning as she said, “I won’t go back for now. I’ll sleep here after fixing the roof.”
After all, a nominal husband and wife were still husband and wife.
Through three months of interaction, she had come to realize that while Xu Ao’s reputation wasn’t great, the man himself was extremely proper.
It would be fine to sleep in the same place.
Xu Ao initially wanted to say it was inappropriate, but seeing her close her eyes so quickly as if utterly exhausted, his lips moved repeatedly without uttering a word.
For the first time in months, Sang Zhixia had a quilt to wrap herself in and should have slept well.
But in her drowsy state, she vaguely sensed something wasn’t quite right.
What was that dripping sound?
When cold liquid splashed onto her face once more, she finally struggled out of her drowsiness, opening her eyes wide with mild irritation.
What in the world?
But when she clearly saw what was before her, she froze instantly.
Outside, rain was pattering down—it had started raining at some point without her noticing.
Heavy rain fell from the sky, while inside the shed it drizzled moderately.
Her sleeping spot had been moved from the center to a corner, where several wooden planks were propped diagonally against the wall to shield her from the wind and rain. Beside her head, a strong, veined hand held a wooden basin facing upward.
The water that had splashed on her face had spilled from the basin now filled with rainwater…
Perhaps the image of that large hand glimpsed in the night was too vivid, as Sang Zhixia couldn’t fall back asleep for the remainder of the night.
The consequences of staying up late came swiftly.
At daybreak, she realized something was wrong.
Her head felt unusually heavy.
She leaned dizzily against the still-damp earthen wall, motionless, her eyelids too heavy to lift.
Xu Ao followed the same method as before, using well water and white rice to prepare a meal. But when it was time to eat, the person who should have been there was missing.
Xu Wenxiu, who had cried all night, was busy taking care of the two children, while the others, still complaining about having to eat porridge, hadn’t noticed someone was absent.
Seeing Xu Ao frown, Xu Wenxiu instinctively asked, “Ao’er, what’s wrong?”
Xu Ao handed Xu Jinxi, who was waiting to be fed, over to her and said gravely, “Mother, you eat first. I’ll go check on her.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
Receiving no response to his question, Xu Ao frowned deeply and quickly strode over.
The moment he grabbed Sang Zhixia’s arm, he gasped at the burning heat.
Perhaps having caught a chill from last night’s rain, Sang Zhixia—who had remained resilient throughout their three-thousand-li journey—had finally succumbed to a high fever.
Her illness struck fiercely: not only was her entire body burning hot, but she couldn’t be roused no matter what.
In his urgency, Xu Ao didn’t bother with formalities. He quickly took off his outer garment, wrapped it around her, scooped her up in his arms, and strode toward the East Room.
The others, who were eating, finally noticed the commotion.
But Auntie Xu the Second blurted out, “In broad daylight! Such intimate behavior is utterly improper!”
Xu Wenxiu also felt it was inappropriate and tried to stop him, saying, “Ao’er, this…”
“She’s ill.”
Xu Ao spat out three words stiffly and carried Sang Zhixia into the house without looking back.
Xu Wenxiu hurried in after them, flustered as she said, “This… how did she suddenly fall ill?”
“What are we going to do if she collapses now?”
The household was in complete disarray. Even Xu Ao had endured his own illness throughout the journey—who would spare a thought for an insignificant Sang Zhixia at a time like this?
Without a word, Xu Ao touched Sang Zhixia’s forehead, lowered his gaze, and said, “Mother, give me what I gave you earlier.”